Baroness Byford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	In relation to Clause 4 of the Official Feed and Food Controls (England) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/15), whether they will issue guidance on how competent authorities should observe commercial confidentiality in the operation of this clause.

Baroness Byford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	In relation to Clause 5 of the Official Feed and Food Controls (England) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/15), which entities qualify as "control bodies".

Baroness Amos: DfID is currently considering options for support to basic education in Burma, but has not yet started any assistance.
	The FCO, through the Chevening scholarship programme, provides assistance for a small number of Burmese students to obtain British qualifications at UK universities or through distance learning. The British Council maintains a teaching centre in Rangoon providing English-language training to fee paying students and a large number of bursary-assisted students. The council also supports the work of local English-language teachers.

Lord Rooker: Accessing international criminal records for the purposes of employment checking is a complex issue as uniform legislative and technological standards do not apply across the globe. The Government recognise that with increased mobility in the workforce, this is a critical issue and is determined to ensure the most robust systems possible are in place to protect the vulnerable.
	As part of this, the Department of Health Social Services and Public Safety and the Department of Education regulate positions and organisations that involve working with children and require that criminal records checks take place before a person may be appointed to such position. Under this process applicants are required to provide details of all of their previous addresses within the past five years. In addition, all applicants are also asked to provide addresses if they have ever lived elsewhere apart from Northern Ireland.
	In the first instance, criminal records checks for employers in Northern Ireland are carried out by a specialist unit within the Police Service of Northern Ireland. Where applicants have a previous address in the Republic of Ireland, PSNI are able to contact the authorities there directly in order to secure access to the necessary criminal records.
	Where an applicant has an address outside the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland the Criminal Records Bureau offers an overseas advice service which provides details and guidance to employers and individuals on how to obtain a certificate of good conduct or a copy of a certificate of good conduct or a copy of a person's own criminal record from certain overseas destinations. This service is currently available through a fax-back facility. From 10 April 2006, the information currently available from the fax-back service will transfer to the CRB website.
	My honourable friend the Member for Basildon and East Thurrock, in response to a previous Parliamentary Question from the honourable Member for North Down, asked the employing authorities (that is, the Education and Library Boards, the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools, and voluntary grammar, Irish-medium, grant-maintained integrated and independent schools which employ their staff directly) to check their records and to inform her whether there is any person currently in employment in any capacity in a grant-aided school who is required t notify their details to the Police Service as a sex offender, or who has a history of sex offending. This process confirmed that there are three persons, none of them teaching staff, with a conviction for a sexual offence who are currently working in schools; none of these persons is on a sex offenders register as all the offences were committed over 15 years ago. In one case the offence was against a minor and involved a girl who was just under age; in the other two cases the offence was against an adult female. In each case the employing authority knew of the conviction through the pre-employment check and took professional advice. The advice was, in each case, that the person was not a risk to children, and so employment was offered. The employing authorities remain satisfied that these persons do not pose a risk to children. None of these offences was committed outside the UK.
	Turning to the national context, the Government have agreed to the EU Council, Decision on exchange of criminal conviction information between EU jurisdictions. This will involve the establishment of a UK central authority to manage and process requests and data. The information received by way of this mechanism will improve the quality of employment checks in this regard.
	More widely, the CRB has been working in line with the recommendations of the Bichard inquiry further to improve access to the records of persons from overseas. Special projects have been established with countries from which significant numbers of employees migrate such as Australia and South Africa to agree arrangements for bilateral checks.
	Full details of the breadth of work in this area are provided in Bichard Inquiry Recommendations: Second Progress Report, presented to Parliament in November 2005.
	Finally, I should like to take this opportunity to highlight an important point. Criminal records disclosures should only form part of overall employment process. It is crucial that employers also carry out rigorous checking of other aspects of a person's history such as identity, qualifications and references.

Lord Bassam of Brighton: Sheikh Riyadh Ul-Haq was not extended an invite by the Cabinet Secretary or anyone in the Cabinet Office and did not attend this internal Civil Service event.

Lord Davies of Oldham: Figures for the central department are available only from the beginning of the 2003–04 financial year, when the department's accounts were separated from those of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. For earlier years, information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	The department's agencies account and record their expenditure in different ways, with differing degrees of detailed breakdown. These are reflected in the tables provided below.
	Official travel in the department and agencies is carried out in support of operational and management requirements, and in accordance with the Civil Service Management Code.
	VOSA's staff principal travel relates to operational requirements for operator visits to carry out enforcement and testing functions.
	HA staff travel is connected with its responsibility for the management and maintenance of strategic road network, including traffic officers patrolling the motorways to reduce congestion, other staff visiting all parts of the motorway and trunk road network in connection with their duties, and travel between the agency's regional offices, and the premises of other parties such as contractors who work on the network.
	DSA staff travel is carried out in support of DfT, DVO and other central government functions, in connection with the operational deployment of examiners between the network of driving test centres, and operational management and training travel between the HQ, the five area offices and the training facility at Cardington.
	VCA staff travel costs relate to engineers travelling to carry out accreditation testing duties. These. are operational costs recharged to customers. Most travel in MCA relates to attendance at off site meetings.
	
		2002–03
		
			  Air Rail Taxi Bus Bus/Taxi Bus/Coach/Tube/Ferry Total Travel Total Travel & Subs 
			 DfT(c) 
			 DSA 
			 MCA2,335,520 
			 HA   2,671,849 
			 VOSA 
			 GCDA210,384 
			 DVLA 112,189 198,777   25,916 
			 VCA 
		
	
	
		2003–04
		
			  Air Rail Taxi Bus Bus/Taxi Bus/Coach/Tube/Ferry Total Travel Total Travel & Subs 
			 DfT(c) 1,376,194 849,984 87,163   13,792 
			 DSA 32,000 91,000 5,000 2,000 
			 MCA2,764,779 
			 HA   3,521,360 
			 VOSA 
			 GCDA254,551 
			 DVLA 141,097 285,396   36,983 
			 VCA   315,197
		
	
	
		2004–05
		
			  Air Rail Taxi Bus Bus/Taxi Bus/Coach/Tube/Ferry Total Travel Total Travel & Subs 
			 DfT(c) 1,234,434 1,003,847 98,299   18,253 
			 DSA 51,000 101,000 7,000 2,000 
			 MCA3,161,793 
			 HA   4,391,254 
			 VOSA 
			 GCDA260,037 
			 DVLA 167,746 383,851   42,525 
			 VCA   367,794 
		
	
	
		2005–06
		
			  Air Rail Taxi Bus Bus/Taxi Bus/Coach/Tube/Ferry Total Travel Total Travel & Subs 
			 DfT(c) 1,158,866 949,402 75,223   12,833 
			 DSA 68,000 121,000 7,000 2,000 
			 MCA 
			 HA   3,472,349 
			 VOSA 
			 GCDA 
			 DVLA 
			 VCA

The Earl of Selborne: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many Natura 2000 sites have been assessed on a site-specific basis by the Environment Agency to evaluate their status in accordance with the Habitats Directive; and how many of the remaining Natura 2000 sites will be assessed on this basis.

Lord Bach: The responsibility to evaluate the conservation status in accordance with the EC Habitats Directive lies with the relevant Nature Conservation Agency. The Environment Agency has developed a staged process, to assess and remove, where appropriate, the impacts of the activities that it regulates to a timetable agreed with Defra and the Welsh Assembly Government.
	Of the 425 Natura 2000 sites in England and Wales, the Environment Agency's investigation and assessment work has been concluded on 53 sites, including the 39 sites which have the potential to be most damaged by Environment Agency regulated activities. Some 131 additional assessments are due to be completed in the next few months, with all remaining assessments completed by 31 March 2008.

Lord Rooker: The figures are as follows.
	Peace I
	A key aim of the Peace I programme was to target social need and in total over 60 per cent. of funds were distributed to designated disadvantaged areas. The ex-post evaluation stated that Peace I achieved a pronounced skewing of resources towards disadvantaged areas. Just under 22 of total Peace I funds in Northern Ireland were distributed by district partnerships (one in each district council area) according to need based on deprivation intensity and population size.
	Peace II
	One of the Peace II programme's five horizontal principles is targeting social need/impact on poverty and all projects are assessed on the basis of how effectively they target the social and/or economic needs of areas, groups and sectors disadvantaged by the conflict. Recent research on the distribution of funding has stated that the allocation mechanisms of the Peace II programme have successfully targeted funds at disadvantaged areas. Just under 16 per cent. of total Peace II funds available in Northern Ireland were distributed by the 26 local strategy partnerships (successors to the district partnerships) according to need based on deprivation scale, deprivation intensity and population size.

Lord Warner: The data are not available for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The main source of data on the prevalence of obesity and being overweight is the Health Survey for England (HSE). We are not able to specify how many children are actually classed as obese or overweight but are able to supply an estimate of the prevalence of obesity and being overweight among children aged two to 15. Furthermore, we are able to provide a breakdown of obesity and overweight prevalence only for children aged two to 10, 11 to 15 and two to 15. The available information uses the estimated obesity and overweight prevalence results from the HSE for 1995 to 2003.
	The results in the following table show obesity and overweight prevalence for children by sex, aged two to 10, 11 to 15 and two to 15 using the national body mass index (BMI) percentile classification. The 2003 data which are presented are the most recent available.
	
		Overweight and obesity prevalence trends for children, by age and sex, England, 1995–2003 -- (National BMI percentile classification) Children aged two to 15 (%)
		
			 BMI status 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
			 Boys 
			 2–10 
			 Overweight 12.9 13.8 13.1 14.6 14.1 13.6 15.6 13.3 14.7 
			 Obese 9.6 11.0 11.1 11.4 16.1 12.2 13.5 15.2 14.9 
			 Overweight including obese 22.5 24.8 24.3 26.0 30.2 25.8 29.1 28.5 29.6 
			 11–15 
			 Overweight 13.4 14.9 12.7 14.7 14.9 10.0 14.1 14.4 14.4 
			 Obese 13.5 13.8 15.6 16.3 16.9 18.8 18.8 19.8 20.4 
			 Overweight including obese 26.9 28.6 28.3 30.9 31.8 28.9 32.9 34.2 34.8 
			 2–15 
			 Overweight 13.1 14.1 13.0 14.6 14.4 12.4 15.0 13.7 14.6 
			 Obese 10.9 11.9 12.7 13.0 16.4 14.5 15.5 16.9 17.0 
			 Overweight including obese 24.0 26.1 25.7 27.6 30.8 26.8 30.5 30.6 31.6 
			 Girls 
			 2–10 
			 Overweight 12.6 11.0 12.0 12.5 13.5 11.6 14.0 13.1 13.4 
			 Obese 10.3 10.2 10.7 11.8 13.0 11.8 12.7 15.8 12.5 
			 Overweight including obese 22.9 21.2 22.6 24.3 26.5 23.3 26.7 28.9 25.9 
			 11–15 
			 Overweight 13.9 13.5 15.4 15.7 13.7 14.4 17.5 15.1 16.0 
			 Obese 15.4 15.0 16.2 17.5 15.2 18.1 17.7 19.2 21.9 
			 Overweight including obese 29.3 28.5 31.6 33.2 28.9 32.6 35.2 34.3 37.9 
			 2–15 
			 Overweight 13.1 11.8 13.1 13.6 13.5 12.7 15.2 13.9 14.4 
			 Obese 12.0 11.8 12.4 13.8 13.7 14.2 14.5 17.1 16.1 
			 Overweight including obese 25.0 23.6 25.5 27.4 27.3 26.8 29.7 30.9 30.5 
			 Bases (weighted) 
			  
			 Boys 
			 2–10 1,261 1,418 2,007 1,336 633 570 1,035 2,364 876 
			 11–15 658 714 1,056 645 343 306 618 1,381 533 
			 2–15 1,918 2,132 3,063 1,981 977 877 1,653 3,745 1,410 
			 Girls 
			 2–10 1,266 1,365 2,082 1,216 628 523 1,094 2,290 897 
			 11–15 635 649 987 656 322 318 605 1,346 547 
			 2–15 1,900.9959 2,014 3,069.004 1,872 950 841 1,699 3,636 1,444 
		
	
	Notes:
	Prevalence based on the UK National BMI percentile classification. Bases have been weighted for non-selection.
	Source: Health Survey for England Department of Health.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Whilst Ritalin has a legitimate medical use, the Government recognise its potential for misuse and as a consequence it is controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 as a class B drug, together with amphetamines, and is placed in Schedule 2 of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 which places the greatest restriction for medical use, as well as safe custody requirements. The Government are aware of anecdotal evidence of a "black market" and misuse, particularly by young people, but have not made any national assessment. Inappropriate use of Ritalin, including sharing or selling, in a school setting should be dealt with in line with school drug policy.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The total number of work permits issued for overseas professional sports men and women between November 1999 and 31 December 2005 are shown in the attached table. Data prior to November 1999 is unavailable.
	
		
			 Occupation Code 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Total 
			 American football player 0 67 67 8 17 59 0 218 
			 Basketball player 13 92 75 75 105 91 75 526 
			 Boxer 1 16 23 9 18 19 19 105 
			 Cricket player 0 355 409 524 507 421 328 2,544 
			 Cricket player/coach 0 0 0 0 0 58 121 179 
			 Football player 13 73 53 49 52 49 49 338 
			 Gymnast 0 4 2 1 0 2 0 9 
			 Hockey player 2 4 1 7 6 7 14 41 
			 Ice hockey player 7 77 64 82 61 45 50 386 
			 Ice skater 0 4 1 0 0 0 1 6 
			 Jockey 0 4 8 1 5 6 7 31 
			 Jockey (work rider) 1 6 16 5 3 1 2 34 
			 Kabaddi player 0 0 0 0 0 72 81 153 
			 Lacrosse player 0 10 0 0 0 0 0 10 
			 Motor sports driver 4 28 19 18 19 13 17 118 
			 Polo player 1 26 53 105 101 104 100 490 
			 Racquet sport player 0 3 7 10 3 4 1 28 
			 Rugby league player 76 107 51 50 50 36 48 418 
			 Rugby union player 15 53 62 68 35 42 52 327 
			 Snooker player 0 15 17 18 15 1 7 73 
			 Speedway 0 27 37 34 31 29 10 168 
			 Water sports related occupation 0 3 1 3 3 4 6 20 
			 Wrestler 1 15 0 0 1 8 4 29 
			 Total 134 989 996 1,067 1,032 1,071 992 6,251

Lord Davies of Oldham: The Government do not offer any incentives to vehicle manufacturers to warrant their vehicles to run on fuels containing more than 5 per cent. biofuel. The Government are, however, encouraging the European Commission to amend the relevant fuel quality standards so as to allow higher percentages of biofuel to be blended into regular petrol and diesel. The Commission has confirmed in its recent biofuels strategy (available at http://europa.eu.int/comm/agriculture/biomass/biofuel/com2006–34–en.pdf) that it will review the current standards during 2006, with a view to increasing the 5 per cent. biofuel inclusion limit. Any adaptations or modifications to a vehicle are likely to have an impact on the vehicle's warranty. This is likely to be a factor which many people take into account in deciding on whether or not to convert their vehicles to run on liquefied petroleum gas. The Government does not, however, have any detailed information on the extent to which it has affected the market. Advice on the warranty implications of conversions is available from, and best provided by, vehicle manufacturers and the vehicle conversion industry.